Recycling in action

Coffee cups have played a large role in discussions of unnecessary waste heading to landfill. This is largely down to amplified industry awareness around single-use packaging, which in turn has driven consumer consciousness.

Tom Lunn, Group General Manager – Marketing and Innovation at sustainable packaging supplier Detpak, says this is because it’s an issue that’s easy to relate to, and more importantly, address.

“Most people can recognise or understand the issue, and the industry can actually do something about it now,” Tom says.

Traditional disposable coffee cups are coated with polyethylene and other plastics to seal the cup and hold in liquid. This coating, including the bioplastic used in compostable cups, is incompatible with most paper